Chapter 6
"How did you know my name?" Asked Kevin stunned.
Brian whispered in his ear.
"You're a superstar, remember?" Hissed Brian.
"I sensed you coming. All of you. Kevin, you search for answers to your many questions." She continued.
"Who isn't?" I whispered to no one in particular.
"I see you have a member of your group that is also very inclined to the higher forces of Paganism. WhiteRaven." She said, still not looking up. That comment took my off guard.
"How did you know my Magickal Name? How did you know about my practices of Wicca?" I asked. Kevin glanced at me as if to say 'I told you so'. Madame Mystica never answered me.
"Come Kevin, sit before me. We will see if we can find you enlightenment." She said. Kevin sat in front of her and she took out a deck of Tarot Cards and placed the candle aside.
"Five dollars." She said quickly holding out her hand. Her nails were around an inch long and painted a crimson blood red. Kevin handed her a bill. She handed the deck to Kevin and he took his time to shuffle them. When he was done, he handed the deck back to her and she fanned them out on a sheet of royal purple velvet.
"Choose a card." She said and Kevin did as she told. She took a look at it and showed everyone. It was the Card deemed significant for Family.
"Years back, you have lost a family member very dear to you, right?" She asked.
"Yes, my father." He answered.
"Your father loves you very much and watches over you even as we speak. He knows what you have been doing with your life and is extremely proud. He knows you will be fine to live on your own. Your instinctive thoughts are very strong and you know to make the right decisions in everything you encounter."
"He's watching me?" Kevin asked smiling.
"Yes he is. He wants you to know that everything will be fine where he is. He is happy with the place he has gone and he wants you not to worry about his well-being." She said. Kevin thanked her with honest gratitude. He got up and we were about to leave when Mystica stopped us.
"WhiteRaven, I insist that you stay for a while." She demanded.
"Why should I?" I asked.
"You emit very strong vibrations with you. You need to know something that I can answer. Come sit." She said.
"Look, Mystica. Congratulations for figuring out that yes, I am a Wiccan. You might also know that I can as well tell fortunes and anything you can tell me I can tell myself. Thank you, now we have to go." I said and was about to leave again when a strong force kept me from going. Everyone else saw the impact the force had against me and they all stayed.
"I insist that you stay!" She demanded again.
Finally I gave in and sat in the place Kevin sat before.
"I know you have some kind of power. Most Pagans are normal human beings that don't have extreme powers like you do so I don't know about what you actually practice. I'm not paying for this reading because I didn't ask for it." I said surely. She handed the deck to me and I re-shuffled. She again fanned them out on the velvet and I chose another card. She looked it and sighed, shaking her head.
"What's the card?" I asked.
"I knew this would come." She said and showed me the card. I gasped.
It was the Death Card.
"You are a very strong person. You have survived many different fatal encounters before in the past. Your instincts and knowledge have kept you going. But soon a major event will occur where a twist of fate will happen. That twist of fate will be the cause of the end of your physical life. But, you will continue on. With the the life you will lead after this one is over you will be able to help many others still living in the physical form. It is not just luck that have led you to meet the people that are with you now. This was all meant to be. In the after life you will meet with the spirit of Kevin's father. He has a lot to tell you that will affect you immensely. You need not fear the events that will occur. You need not fear Death. You will welcome it." She said and returned to her black pillar candle.
"You are SICK! You force me to stay while you tell me that soon I'm going to die?! I don't believe it. I won't. I'm going to talk to the manager of the park about you. You really don't know how to carry a business in here. Customers get scared off. Do you hear me?! You are pathetic!" I was practically yelling at the fortune teller. Yet she never looked up or acknowledged my claims. She was looking down concentrating on the silent ritual she was performing with the candle. Seeing that she wasn't even listening to me. I stormed out of the tent. Everyone else followed me.
"What the hell is she thinking calling me back and telling me I'm going to die?!" I muttered.
"Don't take to heart what she said. Remember what you told yourself before. She's probably a fake." AJ tried claming me.
"But you heard her. How would she know about my practices in Wicca? How would she know my Magickal Name? It's not like people call me that all the time. I don't have it written anywhere with me. So how the hell would she know?" I rambled, not noticing that I was repeating myself.
"Maybe you should go back there and tell her off again. I'll go with you to make sure she gives you a straight forward answer." Offered Nick.
"You're right. I'm going to make sure she tells me what exactly is the deal." I said and turned around to go back and stopped in my tracks.
The tent was gone. The sign was gone. Madame Mystica was gone. Everything that had been there fifteen minutes ago when we went inside was now completely gone.
"What the hell?!" Exclaimed Nick.
"Where did everything go?" Asked Dianna.
"Her candle's still there." Tavlin said gesturing to the solitary black pillar candle that was still lit. It sat in the middle of the now deserted area. I went over to it and was about to pick it up. Once I touched it, it disappeared as well. Leah screamed.
"Was she a ghost?!" She said panicking.
"Let's just get the damn hell out of here." I muttered.
We hurried back to the front entrance.
"Wait! Aaron and Michelle. They're still at the arcade." I said. Diana went to get them. Ten minutes later they came back.
"Why are we leaving so soon?" Asked Michelle.
"I'll explain everything later. Now we really have got to go." I said and we all boarded the bus. Inside, I relayed everything back to Michelle exactly the way it had happened. I made sure I wasn't going to worry Aaron about it. He was too young to understand. He played Nintendo with Nick.
"So after you left and and went back to tell her off again she had disappeared?!" Asked Michelle.
"Yes everything was gone except for the black pillar candle she used I went to examine why it was still there. When I touched it, the thing vanished as well. Something really weird is going on." I said slightly worried.
"How do I know you're not just lying about this whole thing?" She asked.
"Michelle look at me. Do I look like I'm lying about any of this?!" I asked.
"Well, no but you are a good actress." She said smiling.
"Michelle she's right. Everything happened the way she said. We were all there." Said Kevin.
"Oh, wow. This is too weird." Michelle mumbled.
"And since we were all there. We know that it's real. None of us were dreaming. I'm not dreaming!" I said trying to convince myself of the fact. AJ pinched my arm.
"Oww!" I yelped.
"I am not dreaming. Thanks, sweetheart." I said rubbing my arm.
"You're welcome." He answered.
"Now we should just put everything behind us now and think of happier thoughts. Where else do you want to go?" Asked Tavlin.
"Have you been to the CN Tower? Niagra Falls? Casa Loma? City Hall?" I asked.
"Yeah, we've been to all those places. It's very cool. Fascinating." Said Howie.
"Ok, that crosses out all the tour attractions in Toronto that I can think of at the moment. Where else do you want to go?" I asked.
"How about back to your house?" Asked Nick.
"I don't know. You all want to go back Le Casa de Wu?" I asked. Everyone agreed. I told the driver to head back to my house and he said sure. We talked about the fortune teller and what could have possibly happened. At all possibilities, we realized that it could never be true. We ended up going back to Leah's claim that it was an illusion and that Mystica was a ghost. It was certainly far fetched but we couldn't come up with anything else. The bus pulled a stop in front of my house and we all went back inside.
"Mom! I'm home! Company's here!" I called out. No one answered. I remember my mom saying that she had to go out. I found a note:
"Hi Sam,
This is Mom. How are you doing? Well, I'm not home. My boss wanted to see me today. I left you a chocolate cake in the fridge just in case your friends are still with you. There's soda pop in the fridge as well. Tell your friends I say hi and extend a special welcome to the Boys for me if they're still with you.
Sincerely,
Mom.
P.S.: Vacuum the second floor."
I checked the fridge and found the food. I snuck a little chocolate frosting.
"My mom asked me to tell you hi and welcome back. So Hi and Welcome Back to my humble abode. So everyone make yourself at home. Leah, I'm sure you're already used to that." I said.
"Yep!" Said Leah. She had already taken the cake out and was helping herself to a big slice. I went up to her.
"Feel free to help yourself." I said sarcastically.
"I know." She said licking chocolate frosting from her fingers.
"Everyone take Leah's example and help yourself. I have to go vacuum the second floor. Doesn't that just suck?" Everyone agreed with me.
"No, actually I find cleaning a very therapeutic escape. It gives me something to do when I'm bored." Leah said stuffing her mouth with cake.
"Really, Leah. Vacuuming sucks." I said,enunciating my words in an attempt to make her understand the joke.
"I just said that it doesn't, it's really a great way to ease tension." She said all knowingly.
"Leah! How long is it going to take you to figure this one out? A vacuum sucks. Therefore, vacuuming sucks!" I said. Leah pondered the concept for a moment.
"Oh yeah! I get it! Vacuums suck things up so that means it actually sucks!" She said laughing. Everyone applauded her.
"God you're slow, girl!" Laughed Dianna.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as intellectually inclined as the rest of you." She snapped. I laughed and got the vacuum and headed upstairs. I could already hear loud music blaring from the stereo in the living room.
"CAN I GET A WHAT, WHAT?!" I yelled to everyone downstairs. They cheered. I love that song. I vacuumed the entire second floor, through all the bedrooms, closets and washrooms. I came to mine the last. After I was done my room, I turned the vacuum off and noticed the box lying on my bed. It was black. It had a black ribbon tied around it and a card. I read the card:
'Samantha, I know how much you love Witchcraft and I think that's the best way for me to show you my feelings for you. Consider this your birthday gift. Happy birthday, BabyDoll. Enjoy it, it'll be your last. Your ex-lover, Jason.'
That bastard! Where the hell did he go off calling me his lover? He said so before, one of the reasons he left me was because I wouldn't sleep with him. Oh, damn! How did he send this here? He was supposed to be arrested! No, wait a minute. I knew him too well. He did know a lot of people. He had his ways. Yeah, not even the police could hold him down. But how'd he get in my house? When did my mom leave? It must have been between the time she left and now. Do I want to see what he left me in the black box? Yes, I do. If I don't check it'll bother me the rest oft he day. After my little pep-talk with myself I braced myself and looked inside.
In it was a voodoo doll. It was made to look like me yesterday. It wore similar clothes like I had the day before. It even wore a little pentagram. What sickened me the most was that there was a pin shoved directly through the doll's chest where the heart was. The pin looked like a dagger, no not a dagger, an Athame. Bright red stains were splattered all over the doll and inside the box.
My knees grew weak and I almost passed out but didn't. The inner meaning of the threat finally settled into my mind. The fact that Jason had used the sacred Athame as part of his threat stunned and hurt me the most. I let out a blood-curdling scream. Everything downstairs stopped, the music the laughter, the talking.
"Sam! Are you ok? What happened?" Called AJ at the foot of the stairs. I shoved the card inside the box and ran down the stairs frantically. I let out an anguished cry, tears streaming down my cheeks. I didn't notice anyone. I shoved the box at AJ who took it with the most surprised look on his face. I ran into the kitchen and went through the cabinets.
"Where are the matches?!!! Where's the lighter fluid?!" I yelled out. I wasn't paying attention to anyone or anything. All I focused on was my anger. It blinded me, I saw red. Red like the stains in the box. I finally found the lighter fluid and matches. I grabbed the box from AJ who, at that point, had let everyone else read the card and see the contents of the box. I ran out into my backyard and dropped the box onto the concrete. I doused it with lighter fluid and torched it.
Everyone stood back and watched the threat go up in flames. I wondered if Jason was watching me then. He seemed to be always watching me enough to know when I'd leave the house and when I'd return. After the box finished burning, everyone helped put the flames out and safely and discreetly discard the ashes. I sat on the backyard porch stoop and drew my knees to my chest and cried.
"Sam, I'm so sorry this had to happen. I know this guy means business and he won't stop until he has his way. But, don't worry. He won't get what he wants. I'll make sure you'll be safe. I just hate the fact that we have to leave at the end of the day and I can't keep an eye on your safety. For the time being we won't let you out of our sites. Everything will be ok. I promise. If the fortune teller was talking about this incident then her prediction's wrong. I won't let you be in danger. I promise." AJ swore it to me. His words, they entered into my mind and left just as soon. All I was feeling at the moment was exactly when Jason was going to try and get me. I couldn't think straight. I needed something.
"AJ, can I have a cigarette?" I asked holding my hand out.
"Sam, I thought you quit a long time ago." Said Tavlin.
"If you were going through the feelings I'm going through now, you'd want one too!" I snapped. AJ handed me a cigarette and I lit it with one of my matches. I took a drag and exhaled the smoke. There, that cleared my head. Now I could think.
"We should get you back inside. There we can think." Said Howie. Nick and AJ helped guide me into back into the den in my basement. Everyone sat around on the couches and bean-bag chairs discussing the next plan of action. I couldn't make any sense of what anyone was saying. They were all talking at once. I continued to smoke my cigarette and play with my matches for a while. When the noise of everyone talking finally drove me irritated, I got up and walked across the room towards the mini chalk board I had set up. I used to use it to help with my homework but now I hardly had any use for it. Except to do this. I raised my hand to the board and ran my half inch black nails right across the surface, making it screech. Everyone cringed at the sound, but it did stop the talking.
"Shut up. Everyone just SHUT UP!" I cried and ground the cigarette out on the top of a Coke can I had left there before.
"I insist to you now, mark my words. I handle my problems on my own. I've been doing that for the past sixteen years. No one helps me. I do this on my own. Especially in a situation like this. The last thing I need is to have a lot of people get involved with a problem that only concerns me and my ex-boyfriend. So, don't any bright ideas of getting extra security to protect me or whatever. You know what kind of person I am. You know what I can do and you know what I'm capable of. So don't interfere! Do I make myself crystal clear?!" I yelled. This was not a time to argue with me. My mind was set and nothing anyone told me could change the way I was feeling.
"Samantha. You heard what the fortune teller said, you could die. We've witnessed you go through all this already, you can't tell us to back out now. It's too late. It concerns us now." Reasoned Kevin.
"Yes, I heard what that damned fortune teller said. She also said that I wouldn't fear death. I welcome it, actually. Death is not a brand new and unusual thing to me. I know what I'm dealing with. Look, I know how Jason's mind works better than any of you. I dated the guy for a year. The only thing he wants is me. He wants to take his revenge out on me. And if he isn't able to bring it out himself, he'll find someone else to do it for him. I understood the threat all to well. He wants me dead. That's his revenge. And he won't stop until my blood soaks the ground. Security can't stop him, not even the police. You saw him yesterday. He's strong. Stronger than I've grown to know. He was able to escape police custody and he hasn't been caught yet. The only way for me to stop him from killing me is if I kill him myself." I said setting the bottom line. There's no stopping my now.
"Sam, you're not going to kill him." Said AJ, he drew me into a hug, trying to calm my thoughts. I appreciated him trying to help me but at that point in time, I couldn't be helped.
"Want to bet?" I challenged. He looked at me meaningfully.
"Look, don't think I'm ungrateful. I truly appreciate you all trying to help. And when I said I was going to kill Jason before he killed me, that was my anger talking. Don't worry, I'll find a way to solve this dilemma without anyone getting hurt. You can trust me. I can handle whatever obstacle in my way. This is just another one of them. Now, can we continue on with out lives? This is your last day here in Toronto before you're back on the road. I want to get done what I was hoping to get done. I want you all to come see my room." I said to everyone, the Boys in particular. We all went upstairs and up to my room. There, I showed them my entire BSB collection.
"I've been a fan since 1995, when you first released We've Got it Goin' On in Canada. And all this is what I've collected since then." I said, gesturing to my scrapbooks, my memorabilia and half the posters on my walls.
"As you can tell from the posters there, my musical tastes differ greatly." I said and went into my drawer. I took out a set of colored liquid pens. The ones meant for writing on black surfaces. I handed one to each Boy.
"Do me a big favor? Could you please sign the posters related to you?" I asked sweetly. It was a big thing to ask, I know. But that was something I always wanted to happen. The Boys graciously did as I asked and signed away. That gave them a chance to check out what other stuff I had in my room.
"What's this?" Asked Nick.
"That's my Wiccan altar. I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch it." I said with a hopeful smile.
"Sure, no problem. Hey cool, you're a Metallica fan?" He asked seeing one of my posters.
"Yep, and a Smashing Pumpkins fan and a Marilyn Manson fan. Especially Manson, he's one of my idols.
"That is so cool. Finally, a mature fan that can still like our music as well as the music of Manson without any changes of attitude." Nick said admiringly.
"Well, I did say my tastes varied a lot." I said. I put a CD in my player and clicked to a song.
"'The world is a vampire. Sent to drain. Secret destroyer. Build it up to the flames....'" Sang Billy Corgan. Nick and I sang along. AJ went to look at my CD collection.
"Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, us, Savage Garden, All Saints, Destiny's Child, Puff Daddy and the Family, Ma$e, Brandy, Monica, Madonna, Celine Dion....Wow! Girl you got da bomb music style!" He said.
"Thanks baby. So what else do you want to do?" I asked.
"See a movie." He said. I smiled and went to get Witch Board, the movie Howie bought me the day before.
"Welcome to the Witching Hour." I said mysteriously.
"Oh yeah, the movie I bought you yesterday. I really want to know what that's all about." Said Howie.
"Speaking of the stuff bought yesterday. Sam, the blouse I bought you looks really good. I'm glad you wore it." Said Nick proudly.
"I really like it, thanks darlin." I said.
"What about the dress I bought you?" Asked AJ mocking sad. I opened my closet and showed him the dress.
"I'm waiting for a special occasion to wear that.That and the Heart of the Ocean Brian bought." I said.
"Hey Sam, does that book I got you come in handy?" Asked Kevin.
"Yeah, I really like it. I want to thank you all again for everything you've done for me. It's really cool that you're so opened to just five fans out of so many." I said.
"Yeah, thanks a million. Ya know, I've dreamed of these past two days for the longest time. It's still hard for me to take in the concept that it's finally true." Said Michelle. Dianna, Tavlin and Leah agreed.
"Hey, it's my pleasure and I speak on behalf of the Boys on this. Anything to make a fans' birthday memorable. And besides, meeting you made me find my new girlfriend." AJ said giving me a kiss.
"That's right. Remember that obnoxious fan from yesterday at the Eaton's Center?" I asked. Everyone remembered and also remembered what her and I had said.
"OK, so I lied to her about me dating you." I said with a laugh. We went back to the den and watched the movie. I only half paid attention to the film. I saw it already, twice. I just paid attention enough to catch the good scary parts. Just enough to whack Nick in the head with a pillow every time he jumped when the girl got stabbed in the chest in her dreams. I paid enough attention to start throwing popcorn at Brian when he gave a slight scream near the middle. I paid enough attention to snuggle against AJ whenever it was necessary.
But mostly, I was thinking back to my dream I had the night before. This morning when I woke up, I didn't understand it at all. Now it was making sense. I lied to the Boys when I said that no one would get hurt when it was time for me to face Jason once again. I just had to know when and where so I could get prepared. I remembered in the dream that there were a lot of people in the room when I shot him. What else was there? A counter where someone in uniform was helping someone with a ticket. On the other side, the wall was really a window. Outside, yes, I remember that I saw a nose of a plane out of the corner of the window. Plane, people, tickets...The Airport. Damn! Why'd it have to be there? That place was so full of people on a regular basis. All those people were in possible danger if anything went wrong. I just had to make sure everything was protected. And I knew how.
I excused myself near the middle of the two-hour long movie and went back to the second floor. I went into my mom's room and to the bottom drawer of the dresser. I rummaged through the clothes until my fingers brushed against what I was looking for. A cold shiver went down my spine. When my dad and mom got divorced, he left my mom and I with a parting gift. It was something he said we should only use in the most extreme of emergencies. When my mom saw the gift she hated it. She hid it away in the drawer and made me promise to never, ever, under any circumstances to even touch it. That was around the only rule in the house. My mom trust me enough. She knew I was smart about things like that. For the past ten years I had just about forgotten about the gift. Until now.
I took out the gun.
A .45 Magnum. I checked the clip, it was full. Mom never took out the bullets. She didn't want to even look at it. I put the clip back into the handle of the gun and put the gun in the belt around my waste and under my blouse. I made sure it was at easy access when I needed it but camouflaged enough so that no one would know I had it. I put everything back the way it was and now went to my attic.
The door to the attic was in the ceiling of my room. My mom never went in there. I was able to keep most of my Wiccan stuff in there. The only thing I kept in my room was the small altar I used for Daily Devotions. In the attic, I looked through my Book of Shadows and found my Power of Three Protection Spell. I did the proper ritual and recited the proper words concentrating all my mind, body and soul into the effectiveness of the spell. With everything said and done, a slight prayer also said for extra protection. I grabbed my Ouija Board with the navy velvet covering and went back into my room. I took my Polaroid and joined my friends back in the den. The movie was just finishing.
"Hey girl, where'd you go to?" Asked AJ, leading my to sit in his lap.
"Oh, just to get a few things. Hey there's something I really want to get done." I got up and placed my Polaroid on top of the TV. The Polaroid came with a timer and I set it for two minutes.
"Everyone gather around for a group picture. This is for the scrapbook. Seriously, please!" I said to everyone. The last part I directed to Brian and Nick, or, who I liked to call Beavis and Butthead. Everyone climbed on the couch and some on the floor. It was: AJ, me, Nick, Michelle, Howie and Tavlin on the couch. Leah, Brian, Dianna and Kevin on the floor. Picture perfect if I do say so myself. I promised everyone I'd make copies and I'd send the Boys copies as well.
"Another thing I thought would be cool to do. Since you just saw the movie." I put the Board with the velvet cover on the coffee table and revealed the Board to everyone.
"This I found in my attic when I first moved into the house. No one had claimed it so I decided to use it." I said.
"Oh, God! Sam, I hear that the Ouija Board has killed people before. I know you use it in your Wicca practices but truthfully I heard that thing is evil." Brian warned me.
"I've had no problem with this one. The ones that were evil were possessed with an evil spirit. A spirit will choose to communicate with the physical world in many ways. One is through this. One spirit per Ouija Board, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one. This one is used by a good spirit. I wouldn't have brought it down if it was bad. Trust me. but, if you don't want to use this than I don't force you to." I said reassuringly.
"Thanks for understanding, but I think I'll sit this one out." He said.
"That's perfectly fine. You can be the recorder. Just write down the letters that the Ouija spells out." I said and handed him a pen and paper. Everyone placed two of their fingers on the planchette. Right when that happened, a force took over it and it started spelling immediately.
"D - E - S - T - I - N - Y......" Dianna called out the letters.
"Nick, stop moving it!" Scolded AJ.
"I'm not moving it, you are!" He countered.
"Well I'm not."
"Shhh! No one in human physical form is moving it." I shushed them.
"S - H - A - L - L....." Dianna continued.
"It so weird that it's moving without being asked questions." Said Howie.
"I know, this is a very strong presence. It's like it has something really important to tell us and was waiting for us to hear it out." Tavlin said.
"T - A - K - E.....I - T - S...."
"This is really starting to scare me." Michelle said uncertainly.
"Mich, your shadow scares you at times." Leah teased. Aaron laughed. He had been sitting out beside Brian watching everything.
"T - O - L - L." Dianna finished when the Ouija stopped moving.
"That was long. Brian, what did it say?" I asked.
"Destiny shall take it's toll." Brian read out.
"Ok, so what does that mean?" I asked.
"It means that destiny will always have it's way with people in the future. It's not meant to be broken, it's not meant to be changed." Said Kevin.
"I knew that. But what does it mean to any of us now?" I asked.
"I don't know." He said. He placed his fingers back onto the planchette.
"Great Ouija. What do you mean by your statement?" I asked it. Nothing happened.
"Ouija, are you there?" I asked again. Still nothing.
"Ouija?" AJ asked. Nothing.
"I think the spirit left." Said Leah.
"That's all. How strange." Nick said. His watch went off.
"Damn, it's time for us to get to the airport. We have to go. It's time for us to get to Quebec City. We have a concert to do there tomorrow afternoon. That's why we're flying there and not taking the bus." Said Nick. Uh-oh, airport. I thought with dread. We all boarded the bus again.
"Ladies, we had a great time in Toronto thanks to you." Said Howie graciously.
"No, really. Thank you. You've made my dreams of meeting you come true better than I expected." The girls agreed.
"Hey Aaron, maybe the next time I see you. We can spend more time to talk." I said to him.
"That'd be cool. Then I can challenge you to a Nintendo tournament." He said smiling. I laughed.
"Sam, I have something for you." He said and handed me an envelope. In it was a letter and five plane tickets first class. The date was for December 18. The beginning of my Christmas Holidays.
"I want you to read the letter when you have some time to yourself. The plane tickets are for the five of you. We're getting time off for the holidays starting on the 10th. I know you guys get off on the 18th so I want you to talk it over with your parents and fly down to Florida to spend the Holidays with us. I'm throwing a New Year's Eve party like I do every year and Howie's throwing a Christmas Party. It's kind of like Backstreet Tradition. We want you to all come. You can stay at my place. It's very big, so it won't be a hassle. What do you all say?" AJ asked.
"Well, I'm pretty sure my mom will say yes. So, yeah, I'll be there." I said, everyone agreed and the plans were set. We sang all the way to the airport. Leah, Tavlin, Dianna, Michelle and myself singing All I Have to Give back to the Boys. They liked it a lot.
"It sucks that you have to go now." I said to AJ when we had all left the bus and entered the airport. All our baggage were taken through customs. It was then that I got a talk with Donna and Johnny Wright. They had listened to the tape that AJ had given and had agreed to sign me with Jive and Trans Con. I was thrilled. They just had to talk it over with my mom and get our signatures down onthe dotted line.
Everything was set. All we had to do was wait for the plane to arrive and set up. That would take a half hour.
"Yeah, really. Remember to send me e-mail. I have my laptop with me." He said.
"I promise not to forget. My phone number, snail mail address and e-mail is all in the letter." I said. I had given him a letter that I wrote some time ago.
"What am I going to do in the next three or so months when I don't see you. I won't be able to pay attention in class, I'll be thinking of you." I said wistfully.
"Every time I sing a ballad on-stage. I'll think of you." He said back to me. We starred into each other's eyes and he pulled me in for a kiss. We kissed for a short while when I was suddenly and roughly pulled back from behind.
"Hello BabyDoll." Jason said and planted a kiss on my cheek. People gasped, some screamed, others fainted.
Jason had taken me as a hostage. He had pulled a knife tightly against my throat. The knife was deadly sharp, really nasty looking. It was one of those hunting knives with the triple edged blade for easy cutting. Just my luck.
"Don't you ever call me that again!" I snapped at him. Two months ago, I would've loved hearing him call me his pet name BabyDoll, now it filled me with nothing but disgust. He pressed the knife against my throat harder. The sharpness made me gasp.
"You're not any position to piss me off, Bitch." He snarled. He brought me up to AJ.
"Jason, please just let her go. This is not the way to settle this. Can't you two just talk it out?" He tried to reason.
"No way. I tried talking to this whore before and she ended up going all Ninja on me. There's no talking this through with her." He said.
"Hey! You're the one that pulled a knife on me ---" He cut me off by pressing the knife harder.
"SHUT UP!" He hissed.
"Look, whatever you want. Money, power, leadership, whatever. You'll get it. I swear, just let her go." AJ said trying to be calm.
"My God! You don't get it. I'm not taking her hostage. Whatever you do, I'm still gonna slice her throat. Her blood will soak the floor. Either way. I'm just going to make sure you and your pals see your girlfriend bleed!" With the last word he pressed the knife again harder. I felt the blade cutting my skin. Something hot, sticky and wet trickled from my throat and off the blade of the knife. I knew what he wanted to hear, me suffering like a young child. I started to breath in short gasps, making scared little squealed noises.
"Scared, aren't ya? See, I knew I could make you whimper. Not as strong as you were before, right. It's so much more fun now that the tables have turned." He said with a wicked laugh. AJ looked at the blood on my neck than at my face. I winked, slightly. I hoped he understood the meaning of it. My right hand reached for the top of my skirt ever so slightly, making sure he didn't notice my moves. I still continued to act like like a scared rabbit, letting him continue to bask in his powerful triumphant glory. I finally reached the gun. The hammer was already cocked. I moved the gun slightly so that it was pointed to his right knee behind me.
"Me? Scared? Hell no!" I cried and pulled the trigger. His knife flew from his hand but not before it scratched at my throat more, leaving behind a red liquid trail on my neck. Jason and I both screamed in pain. Him more than me. I fell back against AJ, some of my blood splattering against his shirt. He tried to help me but I brushed him off. Keeping one hand on my neck in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding and another still poised and ready with the gun, I asked him.
"Give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't blow you to f***ing hell?!" I demanded.
"I know you'd want to do that. Not with a gun, though." He said with a smirk that made me sick to my stomach.
"You're gonna die and you're going to hell and you will rot there until there's nothing left. So mote it be!" I exclaimed.
"You're stupid little condamnedations don't affect me, whore. You saw Anaconda with me. You know not to look the person you're gonna kill in the eye. You know that those eyes will haunt you for the rest of your life!!" He said wickedly laughing. The cocky bastard. He'll regret this.
"I'll take my chances!" I yelled at him and pulled the trigger again. The sound blasted throughout the airport. Bright red exploded from his forehead splattering all over me. He fell back, his eyes rolled back into his head.
Dead.
I, Samantha Wu, just killed my ex-boyfriend.
The realization hit me and I collapsed back. I still held onto the gun tightly. My knuckles turned white. AJ caught me nad gently eased the gun away. I didn't pass out. I stayed awake for this and cried.
"Sam, how did you know to bring a gun?" AJ asked. Everyone crowded around me. All my friends and people I didn't know.
"It was a premonition. I had a dream about this last night." I said weakly through tears. The premonition. Everything had unfolded almost exactly the way it had in my dream.
Deja vu.
Paramedics came to help me with my neck. They bandaged it up and was able to stop the bleeding for now, but I was going to need stitches. The police came and everything was explained. Since there were so many eye witnesses, no charges were put against me for defending myself or having possession of a fire arm.
I sat in the chair in the waiting room while everyone else frantically made sure everything was doing fine. Fine. That was a word people come to use too lightly. No matter how bad things got, everyone would tell everyone else that they were just 'fine'. Talk about an understatement. Things weren't going to be fine. Fine was before this all happened. Nothing would ever be the same. I played with the bandage on my neck a little until a single drop of blood escaped and fell to the floor. It seeped into the carpet. My blood soaked the floor.
Jason got what he wanted.
Chapter 7
